Due Tuesday, November 13th - Who am I?

Part I: Freewriting

Either in a series of bullet points or freewriting, explore the following as they pertain to you:

• “Nature” – Ethnicity, Race, Gender, Sexuality, Personality
• Institutional – Nationality, Religion, Profession
• Discourse – Environmentalist, Feminist, Libertarian, Marxist, Vegan
• Affinity – Scouts, Teenager, Goth

Part II: Journal Reflection

In a personal journal or Google Doc: Once you have compiled a comprehensive list, write about the experiences you have had with each. Do not hold back. Some will offer more passionate responses than others will. Some may upset you. Some may even surprise you.

This will be part of an on-going exploration as we examine the narrative that is our lives. We are all protagonists, characters narrating our existences through our first person point of view. Remember, there is a third person narrator - dual narrative if you will - telling the story of us. Let your voice be the true war story.


Part III: Blog Discussion

In this blog space: Post ONE section that you feel comfortable sharing with the class in a blog response. Read your classmates’ responses, and please respond directly to at least one student in which you share an experience and one where you learned something new.

Due Thursday, November 15th - "Beloved" by Toni Morrison, Pages 125-180

Overview: As we discussed, Toni Morrison employs stream of consciousness in her novel to show how our memories trigger emotions that impact our present and, consequentially, our future.

Directions: Same format as the last blog. Read pages 125-180. Now you should be thinking about how these abstract images, symbols, and metaphors are coming together to present a full picture of what happened on 124 the day Beloved died.  Compose a blog response analyzing these ideas and expressing your opinion on the text.

• Breakfast (127)
• Hiiiiiiii (127)
• It rained (129)
• Cherokee (131)
• Tobaco tin (133)
• She moved him (134)
• Turtles (137)
• Touch me ... and call me beloved. (137)
• Denver and Sethe - Where does Sethe think Beloved has been? (140)
• Denver and Beloved (141)
• She points to the sunlight (146)
• Paul D vs. Beloved for Sethe's attention (147-156)
• “It was Stamp Paid who started it. Twenty days after Sethe arrived…” (159)
• “She had decided to do something with the fruit worthy of the man’s labor and his love. That’s how it began.” (160)
• Laughter, goodwill, love…made them angry (161) 
• “The sent of their disapproval lay heavy in the air…offended them with excess...high-topped shoes” (162-163) 
• She smelled another thing… (163) 
• Bodwins (162) The Garners (164-166) 
• “These are my hands...” (166) 
• Mr. Gardner. Bodwins. Differences? Similarities? (167-173) 
• “until she got proud...high-topped shoes she did not like the look of at all.” (173) 
• Four horsemen (174) 
• The shed. What happened? Make connections to the prior chapter. (174-180)